Chapter 806: It

It's exactly the domain of the Marsh King Snake!

After glancing around the scenery of the First Nightmare World and seeing an endless expanse of desolate marshland, Snow Maiden, who had been inwardly envied by several other nightmares, could not help but rejoice.

Compared to the mist-shrouded forests of the Faceless Forest Spirits, the mirror-blue seas of the Green Wave Sea Monsters, or the boundless deserts of the Dune Colossi, the wasteland of reeds stretched by the Marsh King Snake may look ordinary, but it is unquestionably the most dangerous of the six dream layers.

The swamps in the Nightmare World differ from reality—they do not obey real-world rules, but instead prioritize the imagery of swamps within the dream. Whenever a swamp appears in a nightmare, it almost always signifies an inescapable "sinking."

Thus, within this boundless black swamp, nothing except towering white reeds taller than adult human males can stand upon it; any force in any direction is pulled downward.

Exaggeratedly speaking, even a whisper of wind passing through is drawn down into the black mud, with nothing able to escape—and the faster something moves, the faster it sinks, without exception.

No matter which direction he proceeds, he will be slowly swallowed by the black mud, drowned beneath the mournful, distant wind of the Reed Wasteland, and gradually dragged into the deepest depths of the swamp, entangled by countless aquatic reeds.

Damn human, you're finished!

…

Strange, has her mood suddenly become excited?

Seeing Snow Maiden's clear face glowing with uncontainable joy, as if she had regained her spirit, Li Ang glanced at her in surprise and asked:

"This is the nightmare stretched by the Marsh King Snake, right? Is Director Scorpio here on this layer?"

"Hmph!"

"…"

Oh right, she doesn't have to answer.

Watching Snow Maiden turn her head away, ignoring him, Li Ang reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, then ordered directly:

"Fine, don't talk—just take me to him!"

"Can't find him."

Glancing at Li Ang's shoe already sinking into the swamp, the elated Snow Maiden snorted:

"Outside, as an observer, I could barely sense a few things; now that you've dragged me into the dream, it's no different from being swallowed by the Marsh King Snake—everything around me reeks of him. How am I supposed to help you find anyone?"

So we can't immediately reunite with Director Scorpio?

After hearing Snow Maiden's words, Li Ang, now lost in the towering reeds with severely obstructed vision, reached into his pocket and touched the ram's head.

Desolate…

At least within a two-kilometer radius, there were no traces of soul-fire. This black-and-white swamp, perpetually howling with strange winds, seemed utterly devoid of life.

It seems Director Scorpio may not be on this layer—or if he is, he's far away. Finding him will likely take considerable time.

At this thought, Li Ang's brow furrowed slightly.

After I provoked such a strong backlash, once the Nightmare King breaks free from the Director's control and enters reality, he'll almost certainly rush straight into the Sixth Nightmare to hunt me down.

As the master of nightmares, entering this realm is as easy for him as returning home—he'll find my location with terrifying ease. The 【Immortal in Wine】 might not be enough to handle him.

My greatest advantage here is Director Scorpio, who is trapped in the Sixth Nightmare. Only by reaching him before the Nightmare King finds me can I truly be safe.

Looks like I'm racing against time now.

Having clarified what he must do next, and unable to see far due to the towering white reeds, Li Ang immediately pulled out his long-neglected 【Witch's Broom】 and mounted it.

This nightmare world is simply too vast—the ram's head's soul vision cannot fully cover it. To find traces of Director Scorpio's movements, he'd have to rely on his own eyes.

Considering the constant strong winds here, visibility is decent—by sight alone, he might spot things over ten kilometers away… Huh? What's going on?

Li Ang had barely risen less than a meter when an odd suction pulled him uncontrollably downward, splashing him back into the reeds. Confused by this unexpected turn, he tried again—this time even activating the 【Witch's Broom】's wind barrier.

But this time the result was worse: he rose less than half a meter before being yanked down by a vortex-like force, crashing into the swamp and covered head to toe in mud.

Strange… is there some kind of flight prohibition here?

"Stop struggling. You can't fly."

Watching Li Ang, who had fallen twice, his knees now sunk into the swamp, Snow Maiden—tear tracks still on her face—smirked triumphantly:

"You dragged me out of the snow mountains, but you're just an average Level Three Cleaner—you couldn't even resist my memory suppression. Once you entered the Reed Wasteland, you're bound by its rules."

"In the Marsh King Snake's Reed Wasteland, nothing except these white reeds can remain on the swamp—and the faster you move, the faster you sink. Just stay still!"

Nothing except reeds can remain on the swamp?

After hearing Snow Maiden's words, Li Ang blinked, then asked:

"So if I weave these reeds into a pair of shoes, can I stand on the swamp?"

"Huh?"

Stunned by Li Ang's question, Snow Maiden instinctively blinked her ice-blue eyes, her smile freezing slightly.

Only reeds can stand on the swamp… so just weave reeds into shoes? This… this…

"Stop staring—get to work."

Not waiting for an answer from Snow Maiden, Li Ang pulled out a knife, cut two bundles of reeds, shoved one into her stunned hands, and asked:

"Can you weave shoes?"

"No…"

"Then follow my steps!"

"…"

Watching Li Ang cross and weave the white reeds, actually beginning to weave straw shoes, Snow Maiden felt a surge of frustration—she regretted speaking up.

But words spoken cannot be taken back; now it was too late to regret. Bound by the 【Unfair Snake Pact】, she scowled and clumsily imitated Li Ang's motions, weaving the shoes.

Bastard! Making me weave shoes for you… I'll weave the most Cijiao pair possible—make your feet bleed when you step on them!

Filled with malice, Snow Maiden yanked and tore at the reeds in her hands, wishing they'd turn into cacti and pierce his Choujiao into a fountain.

Yet just as she gritted her teeth and struggled with the reeds, she noticed Li Ang pause, then glance at her in surprise.

"Didn't you say nothing except reeds can stay on the swamp?"

Looking down at Snow Maiden's delicate bare feet standing on the black mud, Li Ang frowned:

"Why aren't you sinking?"

"Why should I sink?"

Snow Maiden snorted:

"Even without my nightmare core, I'm a Nightmare Messenger on the same level as the Marsh King Snake—I'm unaffected by the Reed Wasteland… W-why did you throw away the shoes? Why are you staring at me? Don't come closer!"

(End of Chapter)